Healthy Communities of Clinton County has announced that we have been chosen by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration as a grant recipient to establish a Local Outreach to Suicide Survivor (LOSS) Team.
Frank R. Campbell, Ph.D., LCSW, CT is the former Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center and the Crisis Center Foundation in Louisiana, USA. It was due to his more than 20 years of working with those bereaved by suicide that he introduced his Active Postvention Model (APM) most commonly known as the LOSS Team.
A LOSS Team consists of two or more trained volunteers who, when activated by the Coroner’s office or Law Enforcement, are immediately present to provide resources, understanding and support to those left behind after a suicide. Most importantly LOSS Teams provide hope. At least one of the LOSS Team volunteers is a survivor of a suicide loss themselves. The newly bereaved often connect with this volunteer. This volunteer is dressed, functioning, and engaged in the midst of this tragedy. Functioning again at this level seems nearly impossible to most newly bereaved people. Seeds of hope are planted.
Research shows that for every suicide death it is estimated that at least 135 individuals are affected. Research also shows that individuals who have been impacted by a suicide death (called “loss survivors”) are at increased risk for suicide themselves as well as other mental health problems.
Clinton County LOSS already consists of 15 community members, including Buck Up Foundation (who is the reason we have the Stepping on Stigma 5K). HCCC has worked closely with the Buck Up Foundation over the years and we are excited to be able to provide another resource in the community.
You will see more information in the coming weeks about this Team, including at our monthly coalition meetings and quarterly mental health team meetings. If you have any questions, please contact us at HCCC at 765-659-6063.
This funding is made possible through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA) Garrett Lee Smith program.